Mental health. Mental illness. Mental disorder. Behavioral health problem. These are among many terms used to refer to mental functioning, and it can be daunting to understand the differences between and among these terms. In this and future blog entries, then, I will try to explain my understanding of and thoughts about these different designations.
For this blog entry, I will focus on “mental health.” The term is meant to distinguish mental from physical health, with physical relating to the body and mental to the mind. It focuses on thoughts and feelings rather than body parts. The World Health Organization (WHO) offers this definition: “Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.” This, in my opinion, is a reasonably good definition of mental health, although I would add to the list that good mental health also enables us to play well, to enjoy our lives and our experiences. Also, the WHO definition may be slightly misleading, as it implies that mental health is a single state that one does or does not have. But mental health, like physical health, can best be understood as a continuum of functioning. People have varying degrees of ability to cope with stress, realize their abilities, etc.—in other words, varying levels of mental health (rather than just having or not having mental health).
I can use here the parallel to physical health. I am often flustered at my medical check-ups by the yes-no question on the medical form: “Do you consider yourself to be physically healthy?” Given the many aches and decreasing flexibility accompanying aging, the bruises obtained playing basketball, and the medications that are needed to keep my cholesterol at desired levels, should I say “no?” I wear glasses and probably should get a hearing aid. I have a partial knee replacement. These things do not suggest ideal bodily functioning, but do they make me unhealthy? Physical health is not an all-or-none condition. Nor is mental health.
It is also the case that mental health, like physical health, is not a steady state. It waxes and wanes with changing circumstances. Mental health may decline temporarily with experiences that overwhelm one’s coping abilities, with failures and losses that increase negative emotions, with frustrations that generate anger and/or discouragement. Mental health may increase with successes and support, with learning of new skills, with satisfactions and joyful occasions.
In addition, there is no clear cutoff between “good” mental health and “poor” mental health. There are points at which declines or disruptions in mental health may be significant enough to earn a label of “mental illness” or “mental disorder.” I will be discussing those terms in a future blog entry. At the same time, few (if any) of us can claim ideal mental functioning. Most people fall somewhere in the middle of the continuum of mental health. Even when we may assess ourselves as having good mental health, we likely are still aware that we have much room for growth in the ways we cope with life’s challenges and in our ability to enjoy and find meaning in our lives.
Given this, it is appropriate for us to strive for improved mental health—for improvement, as the WHO suggests, in our ability to cope with stress, realize our abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to our communities. Just as physically healthy people nevertheless exercise regularly, eat nutritious foods, and reduce unhealthy habits to maintain or enhance their physical health, we can take steps toward better mental health even if there is no identifiable mental health condition to compel us to do so. How we can do this will be the topic of a future blog. Meanwhile, Mental Health Connecticut, through its website, social media postings, and blog entries, can provide many ideas.
Otto Wahl, Ph.D.
MHCT Development Committee Member
